Playing without senior cornerback Zack Bowman was something Nebraska's defense got pretty used to in 2006.

So when Bowman when down with another knee injury in last Wednesday's practice, it was a situation the NU secondary felt like they've already been through.

The Huskers return senior starters Cortney Grixby and Andre Jones this spring, but on top of that they also have a promising newcomer in junior college transfer Armando Murillo.

The only position move that's been made since Bowman's injury involved redshirt freshman Anthony West moving from safety to corner.

"We've been here before," Grixby said. "(Bowman) is a huge loss to us and a huge asset to this team. We've been here before and we did it last year. With Andre (Jones) here with more experience and me with more experience, plus we are bringing Armando (Murillo) along pretty quickly. We have some players there and we just are going to make it through the spring."

On Saturday, NU conducted there first major scrimmage of the spring. Head coach Bill Callahan said the Huskers scrimmaged for about 50 plays and one of the defensive backs that caught his eye was Murillo.

Callahan said having Murillo in Lincoln for spring practice will be a huge advantage in helping Nebraska build up some depth at the cornerback position.